Proving their ‘Metal ’

BENGALURU: Thirteen years after being formed, 1Fret Away has finally released their debut album. The city-based band’s album, I’m Not A Metal Head, comprises 10 songs split into two sides, of which side A is currently out. “Our music has been evolving along with the band’s members. Since each member brings in his/her own flavour to the band, in the past we have seen a lot of change in the line up and that has in turn brought in the maturity to the songs that are out,” says Vinay Balodi, who is in charge of drums and backing vocals for the band.

The lineup also includes Arwen M.A.G.M.A (lead vocals/guitar) and Simran Fathima (lead vocals). Formed in 2007, 1Fret Away started with garage rock and punk before eventually evolving into the alternative and progressive rock band they are today. Their new album, the members believe, is a culmination of all the experiences the band has been through all these years. “By that, we mean it’s the experiences of the individuals that make up the band.

Our album comprises songs that were composed in the initial days of the band, which have evolved to what you can hear today. It has a lot of artistes who have featured in and made the album more attractive melodically,” says Arwen. The album is called I’m Not A Metal Head, which Fathima explains, is actually a rhetoric statement. “I might be influenced by pop but most of the band members have their roots in metal. The name is also a line of the verse of the Metal Song itself from the side A of the album,” she says.

While this part of the album has songs that the band has performed, side B might be slightly different. “Side B will have our individual influences colliding. We’ve been working on polishing our release so as of now, all we can say is that it will be out early 2021,” adds Fathima.

The album covers a range of themes like love, hate, freedom, unity, societal decadence, suffering, and breakthroughs. While the pandemic has been hard on every musician, it also came with some small silver linings. Balodi says, “It was a blessing in disguise for us. It is during the pandemic that we realised that we can work on our long awaited album. We were able to pull out time from our work and studies to invest in the album and finished five songs in four months. Which is huge!”